Murray's Musings on another Riders loss

Some late-night musings on the Riders’ dropping to 0-8 after Saturday’s 34-31 loss to the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium:

– The story line remains the same with each mounting defeat. The offence puts up points, but the defence can’t come up with a stop when the Riders need one. On Saturday, Calgary faced second-and-15 on Saskatchewan’s 54-yard line with 53 seconds remaining in the game. The Riders surrendered a 19-yard run by Tory Harrison that iced the game. A stop and the Riders may have been in position to tie or even win the game. Instead they are left wondering what they have to do to actually win a game. How about making a key defensive stop?

– There is a lot of fight left in the team. Few outside the Riders’ locker room expected the Riders to actually beat the Stampeders. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Calgary blew them out. The Riders came up with a spirited effort on all three phases of the game and could have just as easily won that game as lost it. Mind you, I’ve had similar thoughts after six of the team’s eight games this season.

Brett Smith continues to develop in his rookie season (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Taylor)

– I like what I’m seeing from Brett Smith. He made some rookie mistakes and that’s to be expected. He also makes enough plays that the future looks brighter for the Riders at that position. It will be an interesting debate on what the Riders are to do when Kevin Glenn returns from the injured list. If Smith continues to develop, I can see the Riders leaving him in as the starting quarterback. That might one of the few good things that comes out of all the injuries.

– Corey Chamblin’s penalty for penalties paid off. After being penalized 24 times for 192 yards against the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 8, the Riders were flagged five times for 70 yards on Saturday. That is a definite improvement and an indication that the players are still listening to the coaching staff.

– Of course there was the rough play disqualification penalty on Randy Richards in the final seconds of the first half. He deserved to be penalized for the tackle on Tim Brown, but it wasn’t worthy of being disqualified. Richards was pushed in the back, which may have contributed to the high tackle. Still the league is going to protect players and clothes-line tackles like that just aren’t allowed.

– Richardson was only on the field because Chamblin elected to have Ray Early attempt a 65-yard field goal. If successful, it would have been the longest field goal in league history. Alas, it was short and the offensive linemen had to cover downfield. That meant Tim Brown could find a seam and he did.

– The subsequent Hail Mary pass is another example of the Riders giving up a big play on defence. Give credit to Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for throwing the pass into the wind that was likely around 50 km/h. The 6-foot-3 Eric Rogers then out jumped all of the Riders`defensive backs for the major. It was a well-executed play that the Riders weren’t able to break up. How many times has that been said this season about their defence?

– I don’t understand why the Jerome Messam doesn’t get the ball more. He had 10 carries for 75 yards on Saturday and was running over defenders. I can only imagine what kind of yardage Messam could roll up with 20 or more carries.

– Tyron Brackenridge showed flashes of his old self while playing linebacker. He was effective in blitz packages and even had an interception. The Riders are better defensively with Brackenridge and safety Mark LeGree on the field together. I know injuries limited their opportunities to be together, but here’s hoping the Riders keep expanding on that defensive package.

– Chamblin talked a lot about the youth on the team and it was nice to see receivers Alex Carroll and Devin Wilson and defensive back Junior Mertile record their first CFL touchdowns. Carroll and Mertile both attended the Riders camp in Florida in April and are paying dividends.

– The Riders are off Saturday and likely until Wednesday because they don’t play again until Aug. 30 in Ottawa. It could be a good thing as they need time to digest what happened on Saturday and prepare for another challenge on the road.

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